8.28.2010

Other by Karen Kincy

Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka,to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactlyroll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks ofKlikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink ofrevealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scaredhe’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s homeas their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soonbecomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn ablind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As shehunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected.Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her toembrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity,learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive

So I had heard a lot about the awesomeness of Other and I wantedit bad. So when April DM-ed me offering me hers, I was like YES. I read it on vacation beach-side, and I didn't get up from my towel until I finished (my parents were complaining). Yup, I think that means it's good.

The beginning took me a while to get into, but slowly Gwen's voice and the mysterious murders pull you in. The plot was seriously original, even if it did include vampires and werewolves. I've never heard of a Pooka in my entire life, or a Kitsune, and the fact that a centaur was grocery-shopping is just....(hilariously) original.

Gwen was a heroine who was steadfast, stubborn, and absolutely determined. Sometimes she got herself into sticky situations but when your trying to find someone who murdered one of your favorite people, your judgement can get a bit clouded. Nothing stopped her from searching who the killer was, not even being semi-threatened by a super tall, dark, and brooding werewolf.

Tavien was also awesome. I mean, Japanese fox spirit? That's pretty darn COOL! And he was sweet and as equally stubborn though he knew when to back out of situations that didn't seem very safe (most of the time). He was the one that stayed level-headed when she was freaking out and they were absolutely adorable together.

Her other dude Zack, was ehh for me. Didn't ever really like him, especially when the constant asking for sex started. I mean, that = instant no-no in my book. But he kinda redeemed himself in the end and SPEAKING of the ending...

Karen did an amazing job of hiding who the killer was. I guessed multiple people and NEVER came up with who the real killer was! So when it's finally revealed, i'm was like: Seriously?!?! Which is good, since most books don't really surprise me.